Objective Evaluation of the Effects of Deployment on Laparoscopic Skills: The Simulation and Deployment Laparoscopic Skills Study.

Objective: To assess the effects of deployment on basic laparoscopic skills of general surgeons and obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) physicians.

Methods: This was a prospective 10-site study. Active duty Army OB/GYN and general surgery physicians scheduled to deploy were invited to participate. Before deployment, they performed fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) tasks and specialty-specific procedures on a virtual reality laparoscopic simulator. Upon returning, physicians repeated the same evaluations. Questions about perceived comfort with laparoscopic procedures were asked before and after deployment. Statistical analysis included paired t tests for continuous variables and nonparametric for ordinal data with a p value of <0.05 considered significant.

Results: 121 deploying providers were invited to participate; 35 agreed and 29 completed the predeployment skills assessment. After deployment, 15 providers had postassessment evaluation data collected, and their results were used for analysis. Though physicians reported a decrease in their perception of preparedness for advanced laparoscopic procedures and complications, there was no decrement in their performance of FLS tasks or the basic laparoscopic procedures.

Conclusion: Time away from regular clinical practice during deployments did not significantly affect surgeons' performance as measured by a virtual reality laparoscopic simulator. Additional study on effects on advanced procedures should be considered.